It’s comin’ through a hole in the air,
From those nights in
iananmen Square.
It’s comin’ from the feel
That it ain’t exactly real,
Or it’s real, but it ain’t exactly there.
From the wars against disorder,
From the sirens night and day,
From the fires of the homeless,
From the ashes of the gay:
Democracy is comin’ to the U.S.A.

It’s comin’ through
a crack in the wall
On a visionary flood of alcohol
From the staggering account
Of the Sermon on the Mount
Which I don’t pretend
to understand at all.
It’s comin’ from the silence
On the dock of the bay,
From the brave,
the bold,
the battered
Heart of Chevrolet:
Democracy is comin’ to the U.S.A.

Sail on, sail on
O mighty Ship of State!
To the Shores of Need
Past the Reefs of Greed
Through the Squalls of Hate
Sail on, sail on, sail on, sail on.

It’s comin’ to America first,
The cradle of the best of the worst.
It’s here they got the range
And machinery for change
And it’s here they got the spiritual thirst.
It’s here the family’s broken
And it’s here the lonely say
That the heart has got to open
In a fundamental way:
Democracy is comin’ to the U.S.A.

It’s comin’ from the women and the men.
O baby, we’ll be making love again.
We’ll be gonna down so deep
The river’s gonna weep,
And the mountain’s gonna shout Amen!
It’s comin’ like the tidal flood
Beneath the lunar sway,
Imperial, mysterious,
In amorous array:
Democracy is comin’ to the U.S.A.

Sail on, sail on
O mighty Ship of State!
To the Shores of Need
Past the Reefs of Greed
Through the Squalls of Hate
Sail on, sail on, sail on, sail on.

I’m sentimental,
if you know what I mean
I love the country but I can’t
stand the scene.
And I’m neither left or right
I’m just staying home tonight,
Gettin’ lost in that
hopeless little screen.
But I’m stubborn
as those garbage bags
That Time cannot decay,
I’m junk but I’m still holding up
This little wild bouquet:
Democracy is comin’ to the U.S.A.